June 11th to 13th - to Ft. Nelson & Liard Hot Springs

June 11th – Mon - Ft Nelson
We and Dave & Margo pulled out a little before Rick & Pat as we fueled up before hitting the highway. We stopped in Ft. St. John for breakfast, Dave & Margo stopped on the far side of Ft. St. John for pie and Rick & Pat stopped at the Pink Mountain for diesel. Rick has a short bed truck so his fuel tank is only 26 gallons compared to ours which is 36 gallons. The roads that we will be travelling have sporadic gas stations with unreliable hours so you don’t want to run short or count on a certain spot for fuel.
We saw Rick & Pat pulled over about 60 miles from Fort Nelson so we, and then Dave & Margo, pulled in to chat and stretch our legs. Rick had picked up a young man who was hitchhiking as his truck broke down. Pat was making lunch so we took the very nice, polite hitchhiker into Fort Nelson with us and dropped him off at an auto repair store. We fueled up at $1.50 a litre – ran the tank way too far down!! – and checked into the Three G’s RV park.
Employees at the park were very busy so the owner (Glenda) showed Terry where we were going to park and then Terry showed Rick & Dave. Rick drove into a long site and then we backed in behind him. Rick saw that there wouldn’t be enough room for both of us to stay hooked up to the trucks so he pulled his rig ahead and unhooked – what a guy!
We had coupons for 2-for-1 appies at the restaurant/bar in the RV park so after one drink we all went there. We & Rick & Pat returned for light dinners while Dave & Margo stayed for another drink and to watch the Stanley Cup hockey game.
We all retired to our own rigs for the rest of the evening. A temporary road, first for trucks only, is supposed to open tonight or early tomorrow.

June 12th – Tues - Liard Hot Springs
The weather was nice this morning and we had reservations at Liard Hot Springs so we didn’t leave at the crack of dawn like many others in the park. Instead, we all walked to the museum just down the road. We saw it when we were here previously, Rick & Dave didn’t really want to go and Margo & Pat decided not to walk there in the rain yesterday. Today everyone went and we were all happy that we did. We toured inside the main building and then went to the “garage” where an old guy with long white hair & beard had just opened the building. He was riding a bicycle with a rear wheel that turned like the front wheel but just by shifting your weight. He gave us a guided, private tour of the vehicles in the building and then followed us to a Hudson’s Bay employee residence where we had another tour. He demonstrated a wood splitting contraption – actually worked – and opened a trapper’s cabin for yet another Q&A session. Turns out he was Marl Brown who started the museum.
We left about 11 and stopped for cinnamon buns about 12:30. They were fresh, very good and expensive. I had been looking at our blog for our previous trip and we had seen way less wildlife this time. But that was about to get changed. We saw 3 bears, 13 stone sheep, 2 moose and 2 buffalo.
Liard Hot Springs provincial park campground was very full when we arrived about 3. We couldn’t get into our assigned site as it dropped off from the road and our 5th wheel would hit the sides of the truck. The employee mentioned that it might be a problem and if so we should take site 34 which turned out to be occupied. We went back to the entrance where Rick & Pat were just registering as they had stopped for fuel. The employee was a little frazzled and told us to take any empty spot so we took one that had a ticket on the post saying “One night only”. Terry walked back to tell her and she said no problem.
We went to Rick & Pat’s for happy hour at 4:30. Pat made nachos which spoiled our appetites but we knew we needed something more to eat before going to the hot springs. I made a smaller than usual amount of stir fry and we were ready to join the others to walk on the boardwalk to the hot springs at 7:30. We had a nice, long, hot soak which left us very relaxed and ready for bed – early!

June 13th – Wed
Terry fell asleep earlier than I did so he was up at 7 when he could start the generator to make coffee & start the furnace as it got quite cold last night. I got up shortly after but uncharacteristically stayed in my PJs to have coffee & read. Dave & Margo knocked on the door not too long after (they had been for a long walk!) to ask if we wanted to go to their place for coffee. I think after they saw me in PJs they agreed to go get their blueberry muffins-in-a-cake-pan and join us for coffee. After they left and I dressed, I was looking out the window and saw a big buffalo wandering down the side of the road. I took one picture through the window and then Terry went out to take more pictures. Later we heard 5 gunshots as a park ranger ran the animal out of the park and across the road.
At 11 we went to the hot springs again. Rick & Pat didn’t join us in the water but walked there and took pictures. We were going to make baby back ribs for dinner but decided to have them for a late lunch instead. We had a salad while they boiled and then ate some cookies pieces (Terry dropped the bag!) before finally putting the ribs on the BBQ and finishing our meal.
We all went to Dave & Margo’s for happy hour. On an earlier walk we picked up leftover firewood and planned to have a fire. We barely got the fire started when it began to rain and we moved under the awning. Then it got too cold so we gave up and moved inside.
When we got back to our rig I made 3-2-1 cake for dinner since we had snacks at Dave & Margo’s. Since we had the generator on we ran the furnace which made it nice enough to stay up to read & play games on the computer.